The people of Murshidabad district in West Bengal were highly dissatisfied with the Company rule. The situation worsened with the execution of Raja Nanda Kumar, one of the landlords of Berhampore, a village in Murshidabad.
On 5th August 1775, Raja Nanda Kumar was executed on the charge of graft, in Calcutta. The case and death sentence by the High Court judge Impey, a close associate of Warren Hastings, was said to be an imperialist conspiracy, and has been labelled as ‘judicial murder’. Goring and Baber, two company officials, noted the impact that the execution created upon society as the people of the city, including the company officials. In fact, not just Indians, but even Europeans residing in Calcutta (present day Kolkata) considered the execution as an unsound act. Major Scott, a company official who lived at Berhampore, testified that the incident had become a common topic for discussion.
The concern and significance that the execution of Raja Nanda Kumar in 1775 marked in Bengal, highlights the resentment against the Company and its imperial rule.
Source: Indian Culture Portal